Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 18,321 Shares of Expedia Group, Inc. $EXPE

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its Expedia Group stake by 12.9% in the second quarter, purchasing 18,321 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 160,712 shares valued at approximately $41.1 million.
• Expedia reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $5.76 per share and revenue of $4.32 billion, up 14% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing a 0.7% yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $318.71, while insider selling totaled nearly $3.9 million over the past 90 days.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,712 shares of the online travel company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,321 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Expedia Group worth $41,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Expedia Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Expedia Group by 272.9% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 179 shares of the online travel company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.76% of the company's stock.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

EXPE opened at $272.60 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Expedia Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $185.34 and a 12-month high of $342.00. The business has a 50 day moving average of $296.03 and a 200-day moving average of $255.82. The stock has a market cap of $32.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.25.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The online travel company reported $5.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.22 by $0.54. Expedia Group had a return on equity of 87.32% and a net margin of 12.97%.The business had revenue of $4.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.24 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Expedia Group, Inc. will post 17.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Expedia Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th. Expedia Group's payout ratio is 11.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on EXPE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Expedia Group from $244.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Expedia Group in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Expedia Group from $264.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Expedia Group from $250.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on Expedia Group from $334.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Expedia Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $318.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other news, Director Craig Jacobson sold 3,133 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.52, for a total value of $1,029,253.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,832 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,800,408.64. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Lance Soliday sold 2,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.65, for a total transaction of $909,456.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,885,741.90. This represents a 18.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,950 shares of company stock worth $3,881,995 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc is an online travel company that connects travelers with lodging, transportation, activities and other travel-related services. Its consumer brands include Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, Travelocity, Orbitz, Wotif and ebookers. Through these platforms, customers can search for and book hotel stays, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and activities.

The company also provides business-to-business travel technology and booking services through its partnerships with airlines, hotels, financial institutions, retailers and other organizations.

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